Tuesday, September 12, 2006

creative escape!

Wow...what can I say? I am back from Creative Escape in Phoenix and it was AWESOME!! I am so tired, I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep, but it was soooo worth it. Where do I begin? I went with Kim and my mom, who was willing to watch Gabby for me while I was in classes....thanks, momma! I honestly couldn't have done it without her. And Kim was so patient with the baby and I the whole trip...I'm sure she was glad to get home to some peace and quiet. hehe! Anyways, the weekend was just awesome. All of the classes and teachers were amazing and we came home with some beautiful projects. I just couldn't believe all of the little details that went into this weekend...from everything being perfectly coordinated in pink and green, to the popcorn and bubble bath left in our rooms at night, to the amazing food, to the matching flip flops that we all got...aahhh! It honestly WAS an escape of a weekend for all those who attended. I am feeling so inspired and just wanting to SCRAP...but we all know how little time there is in the day to do that!! Heidi and Mr. Bazzill were so much fun...I just can't believe how hard they worked to put this weekend together. I think my fave classes were Heidi's clock and Allison Tyler-Jones' photography class. She was so amazing...i was balling during her slideshows. Aaaahhh! And yes, Gabby was included in all of this...I cannot believe how much attention one little baby got this weekend! All the ladies were just amazed by her hair. It was fun to show her off, but also so NICE to have my mom there helping me...like I said, there's no way i would have gotten anything done in the classes if it weren't for her!So anyways, here sre some pictures from Heidi's class...she is so awesome. This picture is of my clock, not quite finished...but how fun, hey???

We also went to this store called Lucky 15 and it is sooooo cute! It's like a specialty store with scrapbook stuff as well as other paper artsy stuff. And they give you a little fortune cookie in your bag when you buy your stuff! So much fun...I couldn't resist taking a ton of pictures in there.You can see more pictures of Lucky 15 here.

This is a picture of Kim and I in class....

...and Wendy Smedley and I from Simple Scrapbooks. She is the creative editor of SS mag and we sat and talked one night...she is so sweet and answered tons of questions I had for her. Thanks, Wendy!

And the one and only Donna Downey was there, too! This chick just meets soooo many people in her travels...and she is always willing to chat with people and take pictures. I'm sure it gets old fast, but she is an awesome sport. So here she is with Gabby and I.

The last night was so much fun. We were all served a big sit-down dinner and since the theme of the weekend was "indulgence" we were served our dessert first. Isn't that cute? So all the waiters came out with our plates of chocolate cake and we got to eat that before dinner was served. I loved that. After dinner, Stacey Julian from SS and Big Picture Scrapbooking spoke to all of us and it was so amazing. She is just this totally inspiring woman and it was so cool to hear her talk. I could have listened to her all night. Seriously.

And last but not least, here is a picture of Heidi and I with our babies. Gabby is only about a week and a half older than Capri...how cute are they? This was such a neat way to end off the weekend...Kim and I just managed (somehow) to catch Heidi on her own and we were able to visit with her a bit and thank her for the weekend...and then we went to our room to pack ALL OF OUR STUFF!! All I can say is, it's a darn good thing I brought an empty suitcase with me! We got so much stuff and of course I had to buy stuff, too!

So now I home and it really is time to get back to normal life and to get in some sort of schedule with my girls. It's nice knowing that i don't have anything happening for the next little while. I still have pictures to share of Gabby's baby blessing last weekend...I will get to that as soon as I can!! Bye for now!!

Great review Tal! I had a blast with you and your momma and of course Gabby was a perfect angel! Crazy going from busy schedules to nothing...but of course life is never dull, right? Thanks for going with me and we definitely have to plan for next year!

Talia, beautiful as ever...totally don't think you look like you just had a baby or anything!! You are the cutest ever with your dang cute haircut, too! Those babies are so cute. That is way fun. Your clock is darling! Is Heidi going to put out a kit for those? Glad you had fun; I so have to go next year!

talia it looks like you had an amazing time. gorgeous photos and very cool store! i was chatting with someone this weekend at scrapfest about ce. she said it was amazing and even better than ck events. janna and i are planning to go next year. thanks for sharing your trip!